WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/NOR/17/Rev.1 
20 December 2011  
 (11-6736) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
Revision 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  NORWAY  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:   
Norwegian Ministry of the Environment 
P.O. Box:  8013 Dep. N-0030 Oslo Norway Telephone:  + 47 22 24 58 03 Fax:  +47 22 24 95 63 
E-mail:  postmottak@md.dep.no  
Web-site:  http://www.regjeringe n.no/nb/dep/md.html  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :    
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  The proposed regulation 
concerns 4 specific hazardous  substances (lead, PCP, MC CP and PFOA) in consumer 
products when their content is above specified limits. The term consum er product refers to 
any product intended for consumers or which can  reasonably be expected to be used by 
consumers, cf. the definition set out in sec tion 2a of the Norwegian Act of 11 June 1976 No 
79 Relating to Control of Products and Consumer  Services (Norwegian Product Control Act). 
The regulation does not apply to food products, f ood packaging, fertiliser, tobacco, medicine, 
means of transport, permanen tly mounted equipment for means of transport and tyres and 
similar accessories for means of transport.  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Regulation 1 June 2004 
No 922 relating to restrictions  on the manufacture, import, export, sale and the use of 
chemicals and other products hazardous to hea lth and the environment (Product Regulation): 
- New Section (lead) 
- New Section (MCCP) 
- New Section (PFOA) 
- New Section (PCP) - (4 pages, in English). G/TBT/N/NOR/17/Rev.1 
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  6. Description of content:  Norway proposes to prohibit the pr oduction, import, export or sale 
of consumer products that c ontain 4 specific hazardous s ubstances (lead, PCP, PFOA, 
MCCP) when the content of the substance in the product's homogeneous component parts are greater or equal to the limiting values specified.  
There are proposed exceptions for use in certai n products cf. the draft regulation, due mainly 
to existing regulation and l ack of real alternatives. 
The prohibition is proposed as new articles  in the Norwegian Product Regulations. 
The proposal to regulate lead, PCP, MCCP and PFOA in consumer products was included in 
a previous proposal to regulate a number of  hazardous substances in consumer products, 
which Norway submitted for national consultati on and notified to the WTO 8. June 2007. The 
proposal that is now being notified is  a revision of the former proposal. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  The 
proposed substances are high-priority hazar dous substances which are persistent, bio-
accumulative and/or toxic, e.g. toxic to reproduction.  The restrictions of the use and 
emissions of these substances are therefore hi ghly prioritized in Norway. Consumer products 
are a significant source of emis sions of hazardous chemicals.  The contribution of consumer 
products to emissions of hazar dous substances has in recent years increased in comparison 
with the traditional sources of emissions such as industry and the like, where the emissions 
have been reduced to a substantial degree.  Hazardous substances in  consumer products are 
distributed via a wide range of  products.  Consumers often do not have adequate knowledge 
of the safe use of the produc ts, access to protec tive equipment or know ledge of the safe 
disposition of discarded products.  This involves exposure for the users,  either directly or 
indirectly via the environment, e.g. because of emissions to the environment during service life or because the residual products to a large extent end up in normal household waste. Data 
shows widespread contamination of /from these substances in the environment.  This indicates 
the risk of severe adverse effects to the envi ronment and health caused by these substances 
when used in consumer products.  
8. Relevant documents:   
- Impact Analysis of Regulati ng Lead in Consumer Products 
- Impact assessment of regulation of me dium-chain chlorinated paraffins C14-17 
 (MCCPs) in consumer products - Impact Analysis of Regulating Pent achlorophenol (PCP) inConsumer Products 
- Impact assessment of regulating perfl uorooctanoic acid (PFO A) and individual 
 PFOA salts and esters in consumer products 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    Spring 2012 
1 July 2012 
10. Final date for comments:  7 February 2012  G/TBT/N/NOR/17/Rev.1 
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  11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [  ], or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:    
Norwegian Ministry of the Environment 
P.O. Box:  8013 Dep. N-0030 Oslo Norway 
Telephone:  +47 22 24 58 03 
Fax:  +47 22 24 95 63 E-mail:  postmottak@md.dep.no  
Web-site:  http://www.regjeringe n.no/nb/dep/md.html